Volume 21, Issue Number 3, Spring 2016
Condominium and Industry Profiles

Alphabet Soup

What Does the RCM Designation Mean? Does it matter if your condo manager is an RCM?

In an effort to help condo directors navigate their way through finding qualified industry professionals to work with, CCI presents Alphabet Soup, a quarterly column to help directors make meaning of what the letters for various industry designations mean. This issue will focus on the RCM designation available through the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (ACMO).

Is your condominium manager an RCM? Does it matter if they are? What does a Registered Condominium Manager (RCM) bring to your condominium corporation?

The RCM Designation was established in 1984 by the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (ACMO) in an effort to provide a consistent quality of management service to condominium corporations. From its humble beginnings, the RCM Designation has become a wellestablished, rigorous process involving specialized education, examinations and experience.

Candidates must complete four courses through community colleges available province-wide or through approved ACMO 2000 management companies. These courses cover the wide range of knowledge that condominium managers must have to be successful.

The courses are:

• Introduction to Condominium Law
• Administration and Human Relations
• Financial Management
• Physical Building Management

Successful completion of the four courses means a candidate is eligible to write the RCM Exam, offered four times per year. Success on the RCM Exam means achieving an overall passing grade of 75%. This sets a standard requiring real commitment.

The final step in achieving the RCM Designation is proof of experience. A candidate must have a minimum of two years of full-time, primary property management accountability/responsibility for at least one condominium corporation, one shared facility or two or more condominium corporations, or one phase of a phased condominium corporation including completion of specific management tasks. A candidate must provide sponsors who can attest to this experience.

Once a candidate becomes an RCM, they are required to continue their education by completing 20 points of continuing education each year. An RCM is also required to abide by a Professional Code of Ethics which means they provide the highest level of service to directors, owners and the condominium community in general, and can be held accountable for any breaches of the Code of Ethics.

For more information on the RCM Designation, visit ACMO's website at www. acmo.org, clicking on the RCM Designation tab.